A panel of five justices of the Constitutional Court has unanimously declared as null and void Sections 168(1) c and d of the penal code Act that create the offence of roguery and vagrancy.
The five Justices led by Frederick Egonda – Ntende noted that the impugned provisions of the penal code Act can no longer be constitutionally permissible for being vague, ambiguous, and too broad to sufficiently define a particular offence committed by an individual.
The justices have hence ruled that any attempt to deprive any individual of his/ her personal liberty on an act of this offence is a contravention of their right to liberty yet the offence is not precisely defined to warrant loss of rights.
The Court has therefore been in agreement with the petitioners from the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF) that there is no further justification for the Attorney General to keep a law that contravenes the right of an individual to move freely throughout Uganda.
The now-repealed sections provided that any person found wandering in any premises, on the road, or public place without giving clear accountability of his /her whereabouts is deemed as a rogue and vagabound and can be arrested by police. An individual would be liable for imprisonment for a period of six to 13 months or payment of a fine.
According to the HRAPF Executive Director Dr. Adrian Jjuuko, the offense of roguery and vagrancy and other petty offences such as being idle and disorderly and being a common nuisance were farmed by the colonial master to clump down on the poor.
He then called on parliament to exercise its mandate and have the other petty offenses knocked out from the constitution of Uganda having attained her independence.
Dr. Jjuuko has then advised police and all its sister agencies to immediately stop arrests while hiding in these sections.
